Today, the United States issued a ruling in the case of United States v. Windsor that could have similar historical significance as cases like Roe v. Wade and Brown v. Board of Education. The Supreme Court held that The Defense of Marriage Act’s (DOMA) definition of “marriage” which is defined as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” to be unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. This is an obvious victory for the Gay and Lesbian Community; however, it is also a huge win for supporters of the Tenth Amendment. The Supreme Court, in a dramatic deviation from recent precedent, found same sex marriage to be a state issue, rather than a federal one. The Windsor case, in essence, has upheld the individual States’ right to define marriage as it and its residents see fit, without the overbearing eye of the federal government to intervene. The Supreme Court’s opinion provides a detailed history of the State’s authority over domestic relations and how the DOMA violates the due process rights of same sex couples. Regardless of what side you are on, this case will have lasting historical significance for future generations. The full opinion can be found here, http://www.kingplc.com/United%20States%20v.%20Windsor.pdf
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